The Korean Journal of Mycology (한국균학회지)

The Korean Society of Mycology (한국균학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Fungal Distribution in Traditional Meju and Characterization of Isolated Strains

  • Ye-Eun Son (School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Ye-Jin Kang (School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Sun-Young Choi (School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Yoon-Kyung Choi (School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Ju-Eun Lee (School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Junyoung Kim (Andong Jebiwon Traditional Food) ;
  • Hee-Soo Park (School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University)
  • Received : 2023.07.27
  • Accepted : 2023.08.23
  • Published : 2023.09.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

This study was conducted to analyze the distribution and characteristics of fungal species in meju using the traditional method. Fungal distribution in meju was investigated using metagenomic and morphological analyses, based on which Aspergillus flavus/oryzae strains were identified as the dominant fungi in all meju samples, followed by Pichia, Rhizopus and Lichtheimia spp. As A. flavus/oryzae was dominant, we further evaluated the aflatoxin production ability and enzymatic activity of the isolates. Thin-layer chromatography and polymerase chain reaction revealed that the A. flavus/oryzae strains isolated from meju are non-aflatoxigenic fungi. Based on the analyses of amylase and protease activities, strains with high activities of amylase or protease were identified, which are proposed to be used as starters for meju fermentation.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by X-mind Corps program of National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT (No. 2021H1D8A1104028).

References

  1. Jung SJ, Chae SW, Shin DH. Fermented foods of Korea and their functionalities. Fermentation 2022;8:645.
  2. Mun EG, Kim BK, Kim EY, Lee HJ, Kim Y, Park YS, Cha YS. Research trend in traditional fermented foods focused on health functional evaluation. J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr 2018;47:373-86. https://doi.org/10.3746/jkfn.2018.47.4.373
  3. Shin DS, Han SI, Choi ID, Lee SK, Park JY, Kim NG, Choi HS. Physicochemical characteristics and microbiological distribution of Korean traditional meju of various region. Korean J Food Nutr 2018;31:712-9.
  4. Koo MS. Bacillus cereus: an ambusher of food safety. Bulletin of Food Technology 2009;22:587-600.
  5. Hong SB, Kim DH, Lee M, Baek SY, Kwon SW, Houbraken J, Samson RA. Zygomycota associated with traditional meju, a fermented soybean starting material for soy sauce and soybean paste. J Microbiol 2012;50:386-93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-012-1437-6
  6. Hong SB, Kim DH, Samson RA. Aspergillus associated with Meju, a fermented soybean starting material for traditional soy sauce and soybean paste in Korea. Mycobiology 2015;43:218-24. https://doi.org/10.5941/MYCO.2015.43.3.218
  7. Lee S. Meju fermentation for a raw material of Korean traditional soy products. Korean J Mycol 1995;23:161-75.
  8. Hong SB, Kim DH, Lee M, Baek SY, Kwon SW, Samson RA. Taxonomy of Eurotium species isolated from meju. J Microbiol 2011;49:669-74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-011-0376-y
  9. Kim DH, Kim SH, Kwon SW, Lee JK, Hong SB. The mycobiota of air inside and outside the meju fermentation room and the origin of meju fungi. Mycobiology 2015;43:258-65. https://doi.org/10.5941/MYCO.2015.43.3.258
  10. Higuchi Y, Kitamoto K. Traditional and latest researches on Aspergillus oryzae and related koji molds. J Fungi 2021;7:1075.
  11. Barbesgaard P, Heldt-Hansen HP, Diderichsen B. On the safety of Aspergillus oryzae: a review. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 1992;36:569-72. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00183230
  12. Xiong K, Zhi HW, Liu JY, Wang XY, Zhao ZY, Pei PG, Deng L, Xiong SY. Detoxification of ochratoxin A by a novel Aspergillus oryzae strain and optimization of its biodegradation. Rev Argent Microbiol 2021;53:48-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ram.2020.06.001
  13. Lee KR, Yang SM, Cho SM, Kim M, Hong SY, Chung SH. Aflatoxin B(1) detoxification by Aspergillus oryzae from meju, a traditional Korean fermented soybean starter. J Microbiol Biotechnol 2017;27:57-66. https://doi.org/10.4014/jmb.1607.07064
  14. Park HS, Yu JH. Multi-copy genetic screen in Aspergillus nidulans. Methods Mol Biol 2012;944:183-90. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-122-6_13
  15. Lim SY, Son YE, Lee DH, Eom TJ, Kim MJ, Park HS. Function of crzA in fungal development and aflatoxin production in Aspergillus flavus. Toxins 2019;11:567.
  16. Jun SC, Kim YK, Han KH. Characterization of nonaflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus/oryzae strains isolated from Korean traditional soybean meju. Mycobiology 2022;50:408-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/12298093.2022.2156139